Burress v. Langston lawsuit dismissed without payment

BOONEVILLE – Attorney Robert “Bo” Burress’ lawsuit against former associate Joey Langston was dismissed without any payout.
An agreed court order from circuit court in Prentiss County shows the lawsuit’s dismissal – not settlement – with neither Burress nor Langston acknowledging “any liability” in the case.
Burress, who once practiced with Langston, sued him in late 2011 claiming Langston and his Booneville-based law firm failed to pay him what he expected for his part in their winning a $20.8 million federal court jury award in 2005.
At the time, court personnel said the verdict was the largest in the state’s federal court history.
It’s widely believed that fees to Langston and his firm were in the neighborhood of $10 million from the total award.
Burress left the Langston firm in February 2008.
The court record shows a notice to ask Burress questions under oath last November.
Langston’s side insisted Burress had no written agreement concerning his efforts in the lawsuit and worked under successive one-year contracts.
Special judge William F. Coleman was appointed to preside over the Burress-Langston case after all the district’s judges removed themselves from participation.
Langston cannot practice law anymore because of his disbarment for his 2008 federal guilty plea in a scheme to improperly influence then-Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter, presiding over a lawsuit against Oxford’s Richard “Dickie” Scruggs and others.
Although Langston served prison time, his plea deal protected his financial interests, including his share in the record verdict.
patsy.brumfield@journalinc.com